Pages

Cultivating engagement: what was the catalyst?

If you join an organization, visit a local chapter event,
read an online article, or register for a conference something was the catalyst
for your action.

Now on the organization's end, I don’t want to get in the way of you doing what you most
came to do.But by learning the
catalyst for your action, I might discover how to next communicate with you, to
customize our next interaction.

Note that I said next interaction,
not all future interactions.If we
want to cultivate relationships that invest people in our community, cause, or
organization, we must remain curious
about them: how might what I’m learning about you now alter my next interaction
with you?It’s stimulus-response,
not stimulus-autopilot: think
iterations that continue to evolve as new learning is acquired. See Seth Godin's take on pacing relationships and actions.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that when a catalyst question
of sorts is currently asked it tends to focus on how did you get here (email, website, ad, tweet, etc.)
as opposed to what brought you
here.The former helps you learn
what medium you might use in the future to broadcast your potentially
irrelevant message and offers to me (wink, that was sarcasm).The latter might inform what would
actually get me to pay attention and be of value to me.

Survey and data-gathering gurus can best tell you whether to
ask an open-ended question or a multiple choice with an “other” option, as well
as at what point in the registration or joining process the question is best
posed.I want to focus on what you
might learn in order to begin cultivating the relationship.Let me offer some examples for possible
catalyst insights.

Catalyst: I registered for your conference because I am new
to the industry or profession.

Possible action: In the registration confirmation, you
provide a link to a web page containing a few essential resources for
newcomers, a 2-minute video welcome, and five tips for newcomers that you’ve
gathered from your existing members. Include pictures and identifying
information for each of these members so that it has a more personal tone. Example: Jeffrey Cufaude from Idea Architects said he found ______ to be really helpful when he was new to the profession because it ____.

Catalyst: I joined your association because a trusted
colleague told me I would be better off for doing so.

Possible action: ask if you can thank that colleague (asking for his/her name and email for this one-time use) for the referral.In the thank you to the colleague extend a discount for the
referrer and the referral to both come to an upcoming event that will be
occurring relatively soon.If you
have no events, offer a limited-time discount for the referrer to purchase a resource
for the person referred. In short, reward the referrer and try to leverage that relationship with the referred to get them both at an event or using a resource.

Catalyst: I’m coming to your chapter event because I just
moved to the area.

Possible action: Get a volunteer ambassador to call this
person after she registers for the event, welcome the person to the area, and talk to her a bit about what to expect at the event.Have a simple welcome packet available at the event that the
ambassador can personally deliver to this newcomer.

Catalyst: I made an unsolicited donation because I’ve heard
great things about your organization.

Possible action:point me to a 3-minute video report that highlights either your most
significant accomplishments, your biggest projects currently under way, or
both.

The catalyst is a call to action

When people come to us, they are doing so for some
reason.There was a catalyst that
called them to act, and once we know what the catalyst was, we also can
act.The best part? We can
probably anticipate most of the catalysts and prepare relevant responses to
them.

Our response's content should be simple, concise, and provide
immediate value in response to the reason the people got in action. The response should answer this question: given that this was the catalyst, what else might be of significant value for these individuals?

Our response's tone should be inviting and have a human voice,
not one that is institutional or transactional instead of relational.
No, I repeat, no stock photography.Instead of a generic “people like you also purchased ____”, we should
spotlight those people and their stories whenever possible. And unlike Facebook, make sure you have their explicit permission to do so. In fact, enlist them as willing ambassadors for your efforts.

Neither our tone, nor our content should overreach or
overreact to what we’ve just learned about you.We’re only taking the first step in cultivation.

Note

This post is a part of a short series of daily posts on
cultivating engagement.Your
comments, reactions, and refinements are encouraged in the comments. I am not a
marketing, data or information analysis, or membership specialist. I am a
practitioner in the trenches, sharing what makes sense based on my experiences
and observations of others’ efforts.I am a deep believer in trying a lot of stuff to learn what
works.These posts are in support
of that commitment.

I once did many things for many people: strategy, speaking, program development, workshop design and more. While on extended sabbatical writing "Say Yes Less" and "A Manifesto for Macro-Management" I still do a limited number of keynotes and extended length workshops on facilitation and other core leadership topics.